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Expanded BikeColumbus Coming in July

Columbus's official bicycle festival is right around the corner, with the approach of the BikeColumbus Festival 2010. The 3rd annual offering has been expanded for this year and includes some great new events to make cyclists of every type sit up in the saddle and take notice.

The first event for this year is the Friday, July 16th Mayor's Twilight Tour. Starting and ending at Crew Stadium, you'll have a choice of a 20- or 9-mile loop that will loop through Clintonville, OSU Campus, Downtown, and feature a rest stop at McFerson Commons in the Arena District. The festivities start at 6:00 pm and the ride will take off at 8:00. Cost of the Ride is $25.00, which can be paid in advance (registration is online). Registration for the ride also gets you a ticket to the Crew's August 28th game versus Dallas! Bring a light - or get one at...

...the second event of the festival: the Ineeda Bike Swap. Also at Crew Stadium's VIP tent (west side of the stadium), the Bike Swap starts at 3:00 pm on Friday, July 16th, and goes till 7:00 pm. Bike Vendors from all over the area are invited to come in and share their wares at this event. There is still space for more vendors if you're interested, registration is online. The price of admission to this event is $5.00 for patrons 13 and over, kids 12 and under get in free! Swaps are generally for cash only, unless individual vendors are willing to take checks. An ATM will be on site.

The Dispatch report that Columbus Rides Bikes shared on Facebook today is entitled "More crashes come with more bicycle traffic on dedicated lanes," and discusses the new lanes and the number of accidents that have happened there. None of these accidents/crashes has been fatal.

So... you can read the article and get the statistics. Here's a summary of them, though, with a quote from the article:
...the number of crashes has jumped. Between 2012 and 2015, there were five crashes involving bicycles on Summit between Hudson and East 5th Avenue.…

In a move that has left quite a few people stranded in Columbus, the ride-sharing company Car2Go has announced today that they're pulling out of the local market as of May 31.

car2go is saddened to announce that we have made the difficult decision to suspend our operations in Columbus as of May 31. Read why here: https://t.co/gRSibUhotB
— car2go Columbus (@car2goColumbus) May 24, 2018
This has got me more than a little pissed off and very inconvenienced.

There's no doubt - Car2Go improved the quality of my family's life for the past few years while they were active in town. As a one-car family where I rode my bike and took the bus most days, Car2Go filled in the gap nicely when we needed that extra set of wheels to get ourselves places.

Here's the news they sent out via their website today:

HELLO,
We’re writing to let you know that after careful consideration, we have made the difficult decision to discontinue car2go service in Columbus, effective May 31, 2018.
In 201…

Yes, the City of Columbus has an iPhone app. And an Android App, if you're so inclined.

It's actually been out for a couple of years now, and it gives locations of city services and the like. I've not mentioned the thing here on Carless Columbus in the past because, frankly, I haven't found it all that useful (and if the features I'm talking about have actually been part of the app in the past, I apologize, I just discovered them recently).

But, I'm happy to say that's changed. The app now has a link to the Columbus 311 service line where you can file service requests with the city to get things fixed! This includes issues like potholes, requesting bike racks, and a multitude of other issues (not all bike- or even traffic-related). So you need never worry about forgetting to file a request to have a pothole fixed again - just pull over (PLEASE) and file your claim as you find the pothole in question, or see a great spot for a bike rack, or whatever.…